Means for sewing buttons on garments



March 6, 1962 D. M. SHULAR 3,023,422

MEANS FOR SEWING BUTTONS ON GARMENTS Filed July 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 75 75 INVENTOR BY p 14 M V 76 9 ATTOR EYS March 6, 1962 D. M. SHULAR 3,023,422

MEANS FOR SEWING BUTTONS ON GARMENTS Filed July 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS 3,023,422 NEANS FGR SEWENG BUTTGNS N GENTS David M. Shular, 3 West Ave, South Norwalk, Conn. Filed July 28, 1959, Ser. No. 830,129 3 Claims. (Cl. 2-265) This invention relates to small fasteners, principally small buttons for clothes, such as wedding gowns, womens blouses, and the like, and to the method of attaching rows of such fasteners to clothes.

In wedding gowns, womens blouses and other similar garments, it is frequently necessary to sew rows of equally spaced small buttons on the garments. The present method of doing this is for the seamstress to first sew a finishing strip on the under side of the garment along and close to the edge thereof, and then sew the row of buttons one at a time to the outer or top side adjacent the edge. This requires the two separate operations of first sewing on the finishing strip and then for the seamstress to pick up each individual button and sew it individually to the garment. This results in the buttons being unevenly spaced both from each other and the edge of the garment. This is also an inefficient and costly way of sewing rows of buttons on garments, and in practice it has been found that many of the buttons, being small, are dropped by the seamstress and thereafter either lost or destroyed by being stepped on. Another deficiency of the existing method is that the seamstress, because of the small size of these buttons and the necessity of handling each one individually, is likely to prick her fingers, with the result that the garment may become blood-stained and possibly be ruined.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide means whereby the finishing strip and the row of buttons may be sewn to the garment in a single operation, thus doing away with one of the operations of the old method and also providing means whereby the buttons are sewn more evenly, danger of dropping them during the sewing operation is eliminated, and danger of the operator pricking her fingers is reduced to a minimum.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved means and an improved method for sewing rows of small buttons on garments, wherein the buttons are sewn accurately, quickly and economically.

The above and other objects and further details of that which I believe to be novel and my invention will be clear from the following description and claims taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a second embodiment of the invention showing a structure whereby the finishing strip and row of buttons may be sewn to the dress in one operation;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3A is a fragmentary section showing one way the structure of FIGS. 3 and 4 may be sewn to the dress in a single operation;

FIG. 4A is a section similar to FIG. 3A showing the finishing strip folded over the edge and onto the under side of the dress;

FIG. 5A is a detail section showing one step of another way in which the structure of FIGS. 3 and 4 may be sewn to the dress;

FIG. 6A is a section showing the completion of the operation of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a fourth embodiment of the invention;

3,623,422 Patented Mar. 6, 1962 P in:

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of a fifth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of a garment having buttonhole loops formed therein which cooperate with buttons sewn on another portion of the garment;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of a garment having buttons sewn thereon which incorporate the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 1313 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 14-14 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 1515 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the FIG. 12 illustration taken from the other side thereof;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of a garment having buttonhole loops formed thereon;

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of a garment having button sewn thereon which incorporate the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiment of the invention, but which are sewn in a different manner from those illustrated in FIGS. 1'2-16;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 1919 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken 2020 of FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 is a fragmentary plan view of a sixth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary plan view of a seventh embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 24 is an end elevational view thereof;

FIG. 25 is a fragmentary plan view of an eighth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26 is an end elevational view thereof, and

FIG. 27 is a side elevational view of a button per se which is used in all the illustrated embodiments of the invention.

Referring first to FIGS. 3, 4, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A, there is shown a structure and means or method of securing it to a garment, such for example, as a bridal dress, by which the old method of sewing the finishing strip substantially on line and the buttons individually to the dress is eliminated,

and the finishing strip and row of buttons are sewn to the dress in a single operation. In this a strip 58 of any suitable fabric for the finishing strip and of the desired width is provided and on it is secured a row of buttons 12 which may be of any type including fiat buttons with holes or the usual type comprising a cloth covered top and cloth stem 16. These buttons are secured to a row with the proper and even spacing by any suitable means, preferably by cementing the ends of the stems to the fabric strip by a suitable adhesive such as glue 14. In fastening to the dress 24 the strip 58 is placed on top of the dress with the buttons spaced from its free edge 2.4a the proper distance, a portion 58a of the strip overhanging and projecting beyond the edge 24a of the dress, and then the buttons and fabric strip are sewn to the dress by the operator in a single operation, as shown at 16a. The projecting portion 58a of the fabric strip may then be folded around the edge to the under side ofthe dress providing a finishing strip on this side, as shown in FIG. 4A.

Another method of securing the structure of FIGS. 3 and 4 to the dress is shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A. Here the strip 58 is first sewn to the dress 24 in the inverted position by a line of stitching 24b spaced the desired distance from the edge of the dress and between the buttons and the edge of the strip, as shown in FIG. 5A. Then the free portion of the strip carrying the buttons is folded over this line of stitching and over the free edge 24a of the dress totheunder side thereof and the buttons are sewn, to the. dress by the stitching 16b, as shown in FIG. 6A. These stitches, may or, may not go through the under folded portion 58bof the strip 58 as desired, The line of stitching 24b is spaced, from the edge, of; the dress, and the row of buttons the proper distance; so that; after the folding over operation of the strip 58 to the position of FIG. 6A the row of buttons is spaced the proper. distance from the free edge 24a of the dress.

Referring to FIGS; 1 and 2 there is illustrated an embodiment; of the invention which generally comprises a buttonassembly whichincludes an elongated flat member 10 in the form of a ribbon of fabric or; the like and aplurality; of' small button s 12; which are detachably secured to one side of the member 10 as by having the flat bottom walls 14; of their stems 16 cemented, glued or equivalently adhered thereto. The buttons, 12. are positioned at; predetermined, uniformly spaced intervals along the length of the member It). The buttons may be mounted onthe member 11 by automatic machinery. As can best be seen inFIG. 27, each button 12 includes, in addition to a head, a short, generally cylindrical stem 16 having a fiat bottom wall 14; The type of button illustrated in FIG. 27 is well known in the garment art, and is formed byapair of cooperating metalshells, a cardboard Spacer, and two pieces of finishing fabric that are disposed soas to cover the head of the button and to provide acylindrical stem 16. It should be clearly understoodthat'the precise formof button isnot critical; however, the button preferably has a stem 16 which istmade of fabric in order, to achievethe maximum benefits of the invention. It should also be understood that the width of the member 10, the type of material of which it is made, the size of;bu ttQns, andthe type of cement. glue, or other adhesive used, may be varied.

By reference to FIGS. 11 to 16, one method in which theFIGS. 1, and 2 buttonassernblymay be utilized to provide a row of predeterminedly. spaced buttons on. a garment which cooperates witha row of associated buttonholes, may be seen. In FIGS. 11 and 14, there is illustrateda portion 18.0f a garment which is illustrated as being a lace fabric and which may be part of a wedding gown, ladies? blouse, or the like, and whichincludes a plurality of looped buttonholes 20 that are uniformly spacedalong an edge 22 thereof. In FIGS. 12, 13, and: 16, there is illustrated another portion 24 of such a garment which supports a row of uniformly spaced buttons 12that cooperate with the loops 2% to fasten the garment portions in a known manner.

As is clearly shown in FIGS. 12, 13, 15 and 16, the FIGS. 1 and2 button. assembly is. secured to garment portion. 24 near the edge 26.0f said portion which is formed by .a folded-over, reinforcing strip 28 by the stitching 39. The. strip 28 may be additionally secured to garment portion 24 by stitching 31. The manner in which buttons 12cooperate with the buttonhole loops to fasten thetwo portions of the garment is well known, as. poined out above.

portion 24 by disposingthe FIGS. 1 to 4 button assembly adjacent thereto and having the stitching 30 andlfiaare permanently secured thereto. To facilitate the entire methodof attachment, ifdesired, the member 10 may be- The important thing to note isthat theentire row of buttons 12 is secured to the garment 4 sewn to the garment portion 24 by the elongated line of stitching 36, either before or after the stitching 30 is sewn. If other types of buttons, such as plastic ones, are used, it is necessary to provide lateral thread openings in their stems to accommodate stitches 32. With fabric button stems 16, however, this is not necessary.

In FIGS. 17-20, the FIGS. 1 and 2 button assembly and associated buttonhole loops are illustrated when finally secured to a garment wherein the buttons 12 and member 10, are sewn to a garment portion byv slightly different stitching 46,. from that employed in FIGS. 11-16 method of, attachment. InFIG; 17, there is illustrated a garment portion 38 having a plurality of' uniformly. spaced: buttonhole loops 40' formed thereon, which. are adapted to cooperate with the uniformly spaced buttons 1;2 which .are secured to the garment portion 42. The buttons 12and their associated; supportingmember 10 are securedto the garment portion. 42 near its edge 44 by. the stitching 46, which includes a plurality of spaced longitudinal stitches 48- which pass through the button stems 16, the member 10 and the, garment portion 42, and a plurality of; alternately spaced, longitudinal, skip stitches 50.

In FIGS. 3, and; 4, a button assembly is illustrated whichgis. generally similarto the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodimer ts, except thatthe buttons 12 are detachably mounted on an elongated member in the form of. a wide strip 58 of fabric ribbon. This embodiment, in addition to having the advantages possessed by the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiment, possesses the additional advantages of eliminating the need; for a separate finishing strip to cover the rawedge of, the garment portion to whichthe button assembly is secured, and of simplifying the overall method of; attaching. the buttons to a garment.

In FIGS. 21 and 22 there is illustrated an embodiment of-the invention whichcomprises abutton assembly that is generally similar to that of the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiment, and which may be secured to a garment in, a generally similar manner, but wherein the member 10, in place of being a-plain ribbon, is in the form of a length 52 of finishing fabric having an ornamental design formed integrally therein, such as lace, rickrack or the like. It will be understood that the bottom walls 14 of the button stemsl are detachably mounted on the length 52,-;and that said length is permanently secured to a portionof a garment by either of the methods inwhich the FIGS. 1 and 2 ernboditnentmay be attached.

In FIGS. 23 and 24, there is illustrated an embodiment of the invention which is generally similar to the FIGS. 1 and 2 button assembly, but which includes a member 10 in the form of astrip of finishing fabric, such as; satin, whiohispermanently secured to a folded strip of finishing fabric 54, such as nylon net, by the stitching 56 prior to thebutton assembly beingsecured to a portion of; agarment, The button assembly, illustrated in F l GS. 2 3 and 24may be permanently securedto a portion of a garment by, either of the methods in which the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiment may beattached.

At this point it; should be noted that in each of the button: assembly embodiments disclosed thus far, viz,

thoseof'EIGSJ and 2, FIGS, 3 and 4, FIGS. 21 andZZ; and FIGS. 23 and 24, the elongated supporting member 1001158, regardless of,its-- precise form, ispermanently securedto; the garment by the stitches, either transverseor longitudinal, that pass through the garment portion. and the button-stems In EIGS, 5 and :6, there is-illustrated'an embodiment of the invention wherein the button assembly comprises av pluralityfof spaced buttons ,12 which are strung. along and supported on an elongated member in the form of a-heavythread 60 which passesthrough the bottom portion of each button stem 16. Whenpermanently securing the buttons-12 ofthe FIGS. Sand 6 button assembly to a portion of the garment, each individual'button is sewn thereto by having a stitch passthrough itsstem andthe portion of the garment. When all of the buttons 12 have been individually sewn to the garment, the heavy thread 60 is pulled out of the garment portion and button stems and disposed of. It should, therefore, be observed that the FIGS. "5 and 6 button assembly embodiment difiers from the other embodiments described thus far in that its elongated member which supports the buttons prior to and during attachment to a garment is removed after the buttons are permanently sewn to a garment portion, whereas the elongated members of each of said other embodiments become a permanent part of the garment.

In FIGS. and 26, there is illustrated an embodiment which is a variation of the FIGS. 5 and 6 embodiment. In the FIGS. 25 and 26 button assembly, the buttons 12 are detachably mounted on the heavy thread 62, but the thread 62 also passes through a folded strip 64 of finishing fabric, such as nylon net, to detachably mount the buttons thereon prior to their attachment to the garment. When the FIGS. 25 and 26 embodiment is per manently sewn to the garment portion, the permanent stitching (not shown) passes through both the strip 64 and the button stems 16. After all of the buttons have been sewn to the garment portion, the heavy thread 62 is pulled out of the garment portion and disposed of, but the strip 64 remains as a permanent part of the garment.

It should be noted that in both the FIGS. 5 and 6 and FIGS. 25 and 26 embodiments, the buttons 12 are not cemented or glued to an elongated member, as in the other embodiments, but are loosely mounted on a heavy supporting thread, and that the heavy threads do not become a permanent part of the garment, as do the elongated members 10 of the other embodiments. However, it should be understood in connection with the FIGS. 25 and 26 embodiment that, if desired, the buttons 12 may be cemented or glued to the fabric strip 64 and the heavy thread 62 dispensed with.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, there is illustrated an embodiment of the invention wherein the buttons 12 are detachably mounted on an elongated member 66, in the form of a heavy thread, which passes through the bottom portion of each button stem 16, and are uniform-1y spaced along the length thereof by a second elongated member 68 in the form of a strip of thin material, such as paper, that has a central longitudinal line of perforations 70 formed therein and a plurality of openings 72 formed therein and spaced along the line of perforations. As can best be seen in FIG. 8, prior to being attached to a garment, the buttons 12 are strung on and supported by the heavy thread 66, and uniformly spaced by having their stems 16 disposed in and located by the openings 72 in the member 68.

When securing the FIGS. 7 and 8 embodiment to a portion of the garment, the button assembly is juxtaposed to an edge of a garment portion and the buttons 12 are sewn thereto by either of the methods by which the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiment may be sewn to a garment portion. However, in the case of the FIGS. 7 and 8 embodiment, after all the buttons 12 have had their stems 16 stitched to the garment portion, the heavy thread 66 is pulled out and disposed of, and the strip 68 is torn apart longitudinally to separate along its line of perforations 70 and disposed of. It will, therefore, be observed that the heavy thread 66 functions to retain a plurality of buttons 12 in assembled condition prior to being sewn to a garment, and the strip 68 positions the buttons in a uniformly spaced manner. After the buttons are attached to a garment, neither of the members 66 and 68 becomes a permanent part of the garment.

In FIGS. 9 and 10, there is illustrated an embodiment which comprises a button assembly that includes a plurality of buttons 12 that have the bottom walls 14 of their stems 16 detachably mounted, as by gluing or cementing, on the elongated member 74, in the form of a strip of material which includes a pair of spaced, elongated, side portions 76 which are detachably connected to each other by a central, elongated, tear strip 78. The portions 76 may conveniently be made of paper and the tear strip 78 may be conveniently formed of a stronger material, such as metal foil or the like. The FIGS. 9 and 10 button assembly is permanently secured to a portion of a garment by either of the methods of attaching the FIGS. 1 and 2 button assembly. After each of the button stems 16 has been sewn to the garment portion, the tear strip 78 is pulled away and disposed of, thereby separating and allowing the portions 76 to be pulled apart, removed from the garment portion and disposed of. After the buttons are attached to the garment, the elongated member 74 does not become "a permanent part of the garment. If desired, a longitudinally separable, perforated strip could be used in place of member 74.

In view of the foregoing it should be apparent that several embodiments of my invention have been disclosed. Each of the embodiments is Well suited for a particular practical application in garment manufacture, and each of them possesses some advantage over the prior art. For example, all of the disclosed button assemblies may be manufactured and sold by the yard or on cards for particular purposes and thereby eliminate the need to sell buttons by number and the consequent counting by customers to insure that the proper number has been received. Also, when manufacturing wedding gowns, it is customary for a row of thirty-six small buttons to be sewn on the back of the gown, and for a row of six small buttons to be sewn on each sleeve. With my invention, lengths of button assemblies having the desired predetermined number of buttons may be sold to the garment manufacturer. All of the embodiments possess the advantage of eliminating the need for the seamstress to pick up each button individually when it is sewn to a garment, and all of the embodiments other than the one of FIGS. 5 and 6 possess the advantage of positively providing for uniform spacing of the buttons in a row, without requiring the seamstress to mark the garment.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of my invention are not limited to the particular details of construction of the examples illustrated, and I contemplate that various and other modifications and applications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, my intention that the appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The combination of a fabric garment having a free edge, a strip of flexible fabric, a series of buttons having cylindrical relatively rigid fabric stems with flat free ends secured to said strip at given spaced intervals longitudinally along the stri means for securing said buttons to said strip, and a line of stitching passing through the garment, the strip of fabric and transversely through the stems of the buttons adjacent to and backwardly from the free edge of the garment securing both the strip and buttons to the garment along said free edge, said means being separate from and in addition to said line of stitchmg.

2. The combination of a fabric garment having a free edge, a strip of flexible fabric, a series of buttons having relatively rigid fabric stems with flat free ends, means for securing said buttons to the strip at determined spaced intervals longitudinally along the strip comprising an adhesive material on said flat free ends and in adhesive contact with said strip, and a line of stitching passing through the garment, the strip of fabric and transversely through the stems of the buttons adjacent to and backwardly from the free edge of the garment securing both the fabric strip and buttons to the garment in a row adjacent said free edge.

3. The combination of a fabric garment having a free edge, a, strip of flexible fabric of 21 Width to form a finishing strip for said free edge, a series of buttons having relatively rigid fabric stems with fiat free ends, means for securing said buttons to one side of the strip in a row at determined spaced intervals longitudinally along the strip comprising an adhesive material on said flat free ends and in adhesive contact with said strip, and a line of stitching passing through the garment and the strip longitudinally adjacent said free edge securing the strip in finishing position for said edge, said line of stitching also passing transversely through the fabric stems of the buttons securing the buttons to the garment in a row extending longitudinally along said edge adjacent thereto and spaced backwardly from said edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

